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Folk singer Pete Seeger dies at age 94

To Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, the singer/songwriter/activist who died Monday at the age of 94 was "the father of American folk music." But Seeger, who popularized This Land Is Your Land and We Shall

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Folk singer Pete Seeger dies at age 94

Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today
2:49 p.m. CST January 28, 2014

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)(Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

To Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, the singer/songwriter/activist who died Monday at the age of 94 was "the father of American folk music."

But Seeger, who popularized This Land Is Your Land and We Shall Overcome and wrote If I Had a Hammer and Turn, Turn, Turn, never liked the term folk music.

"It's been defined as the 'music of the peasants,'" Seeger told USA TODAY in a 2009 interview, "and then you get someone saying (of Seeger), 'he's no peasant!'''

Seeger, who dropped out of Harvard University in 1938 to ride a bicycle across the country, quoted his father, Charles Seeger, a musicologist: "My dad, the old professor, used to say, 'Never get into an argument about what's folk music and what isn't.'"

But whatever you called him, Seeger influenced scores of other singers, including Springsteen,Joan Baez, Dave Matthews, Rufus Wainwright, John Mellencamp and Arlo Guthrie. All performed in 2009 at Seeger's 90th birthday party at sold-out Madison Square Garden, a fundraiser for his favorite local cause: cleaning up New York's Hudson River.

That night, Springsteen introduced Seeger saying, "He's gonna look a lot like your granddad that wears flannel shirts and funny hats. He's gonna look like your granddad if your granddad can kick your ass. At 90, he remains a stealth dagger through the heart of our country's illusions about itself."

Seeger opposed McCarthyism, marched beside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and led environmental campaigns. In 1969, he helped build a sailing sloop called the Clearwater that continues to serve as a "floating classroom" and rallying point for cleaning up the Hudson.

"Songs won't save the planet," Seeger told his biographer David Dunlap, author ofHow Can I Keep From Singing? "But, then, neither will books or speeches...Songs are sneaky things. They can slip across borders. Proliferate in prisons." He liked to quote Plato: "Rulers should be careful about what songs are allowed to be sung."

Seeger is the only singer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who was convicted of contempt of Congress. In 1955, he refused to testify about his past membership in the Communist Party. (He later said he quit the party in 1949 and "should have left much earlier. It was stupid of me not to...I thought Stalin was the brave secretary Stalin and had no idea how cruel a leader he was.")

In 1961, his conviction was overturned on appeal, but Seeger continued to be blacklisted by commercial TV networks until 1967. Even then, CBS censored parts of his anti-Vietnam War musical allegory,Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, when he sang it on the Smothers Brothers' Comedy Hour.

In 2006, Springsteen helped introduce Seeger to a new generation when he recorded We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, an album of 13 songs popularized by Seeger, including "John Henry" and "Shenandoah." Three years later, Springsteen persuaded Seeger to sing This Land Is Your Landwith him at President Obama's inaugural concert in frigid temperatures on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

"He was so happy that day," Springsteen said later. "It was like, 'Pete, you outlasted the bastards, man.' It was so nice."

Much earlier, poet Carl Sandberg crowned Seeger "America's tuning folk." But when Bob Dylan called Seeger a saint, that was going too far.

"What a terrible thing to call someone," Seeger told USA TODAY on the eve of his 90th birthday. "I've made a lot of foolish mistakes over the years."

But no one was better at leading sing-alongs. "There is no such thing as a wrong note," he liked to say when leading group renditions of songs like Amazing Grace, "just as long as you're singing along."

At the end of our interview in 2009, I mentioned that my father had attended one of Seeger's free outdoor concerts decades earlier. As my father told it, Seeger noticed my dad wasn't singing and urged him to join in. My father said he shot back, "It's a free country. If I don't want to sing, I don't have to."

When I told Seeger that story, he asked if my father was still alive. No, I said.

"That's too bad," Seeger replied, "because I have some new songs he might like."

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 20: Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger sings at Teachers College, Columbia University commencement convocation May 20, 2003 at St. John's the Divine church in New York City. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also on hand for the festivities. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images) (Photo: Chris Hondros Getty Images)

NEW YORK - APRIL 27: (U.S. TABS AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER OUT) Musician Pete Seeger (L) and director Francois Verster appear at a Q & A session to announce Seeger's New Music Initiative, following the premiere screening of "A Lion's Trail," directed by Verster, at the South African Film Festival April 27, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Roberto Rabanne/Getty Images) (Photo: Roberto Rabanne Getty Images)

NEW YORK - MAY 16: Artist Pete Seeger performs after receiving an honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music at the Riverside Church in Harlem on May 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Donna Ward/Getty Images) (Photo: Donna Ward Getty Images)

NEW YORK - MAY 16: Artist Pete Seeger receives honorary Doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music at the Riverside Church in Harlem on May 16, 2008 in New York City. (Photo by Donna Ward/Getty Images) (Photo: Donna Ward Getty Images)

WASHINGTON - JANUARY 18: Musicians Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen (R) perform in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration At The Lincoln Memorial" on January 18, 2009 at the National Mall in Washington, DC. The event includes a diverse array of talent featuring both musical performances and historical readings and an appearance by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Photo: Justin Sullivan Getty Images)

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 24: Musician Pete Seeger attends the memorial celebration for Odetta at Riverside Church on February 24, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

Pete Seeger during a concert for folk music legend Pete Seeger at Madison Square Garden May 3, 2009 marking his 90th birthday. Proceeds from the show will go to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an organization founded by the singer 40 year ago to preserve and protect the Hudson River. AFP PHOTO/ TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) (Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP/Getty Images)

Folk music legend Pete Seeger acknowledges the crowd during a concert marking his 90th birthday at Madison Square Garden in New York onMay 3, 2009. Proceeds from the show will go to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an organization founded by the singer 40 years ago to preserve and protect the Hudson River. AFP PHOTO/TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) (Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP/Getty Images)

Folk music legend Pete Seeger performs during a concert marking his 90th birthday at Madison Square Garden in New York on May 3, 2009. Proceeds from the show will go to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an organization founded by the singer 40 years ago to preserve and protect the Hudson River. AFP PHOTO/TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images) (Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger (L) receives the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 03: Singer Pete Seeger performs at the 2009 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize special outdoor tribute at Hunts Point Riverside Park on September 3, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz Getty Images)

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Seeger was born in New York May 3, 1919 to musical parents: His father was a Harvard-trained composer. His mother, Constance, was a concert violinist.

After dropping out of Harvard, Seeger met Woody Guthrie who taught him how to jump freight trains. They became part of the left-wing Alamanac Singers who sang in opposition to the peacetime draft of 1940. But after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Seeger enlisted in the Army and trained as airplane mechanic. He ended up being assigned to entertain the troops in the Pacific. When he was asked what he did in the war, he'd answer: "I strummed my banjo."

Seeger co-founded the Weavers, who had an apolitical hit, Good Night Irene, which topped the charts for 13 weeks in 1950, but within three years they were blacklisted from radio and TV because of their left-wing politics.

Long after the blacklists ended, Seeger continued protesting. In 2011, he joined a march in support of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

For more than 60 years, he lived in Beacon, N.Y., with his wife, Toshi, in a cabin he mostly built himself on a cliff overlooking the Hudson River, 60 miles north ofManhattan. Toshi, whom he called "the brains of the family," died at 91 in 2013, after nearly 70 years of marriage. Seeger is suvived by a son, Daniel; two daughters,Mika Seeger and Tinya Seeger; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

If he didn't being want to be called a folk singer, what term did he prefer?

"How about river singer," he suggested. "I sing up and down the Hudson River."

The last time I saw Seeger perform was in 2010 at an environmental fundraiser in an old church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. He looked as pleased to be singing with a local children's chorus, with kids named Destiny Burroughs and Maddy Murphy, as he had at Madison Square Garden with Springsteen, Baez and Mellencamp.